Low-cost carrier Ryanair is the world’s most carbon-efficient airline, according to new analysis by carbon accounting firm Brighter Planet.
The Irish carrier beat Cathay Pacific and Easyjet to the top spot, with the study examining five variables to measure flight efficiency of the 20 largest airlines worldwide: aircraft fuel economy, passenger load, seat density, freight share and flight distances.
Unsurprisingly Ryanair succeeded by placing first or second in the load factor and seat density tables, with Cathay Pacific ranking first for aircraft fuel economy, distance, and freight share.
American Airlines subsidiary American Eagle came last in the study, with British Airways 12th out of 20, Air France 15th and Lufthansa 16th.
Brighter Planet says it used “an advanced energy and carbon model to analyse more than nine billion passenger departures and more than 12 trillion passenger-miles flown over a period of over 10 years to rank the airlines”.
For more information visit brighterplanet.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
Brighter Planet's airline efficiency rankings
